A world without the Big Mac, Happy Meals, Chicken McNuggets, and the phrase “I’m lovin’ it,” is almost inconceivable. People around the globe have become accustomed to the high gleaming golden arches that make up the famous emblem for McDonald’s. McDonald’s has grasped the concept that culture flows from power. In this case, the American culture flows through the veins of this fast-food giant and the more that is supplied, the greater the demand. It is no secret that McDonald’s has become one of the world’s largest fast-food retailers. It has become a well known icon that has played a huge part in globalization, with chains located in many different countries… transforming the meaning of fast-food all around the world.
Everyone has heard of McDonald’s, but where did this familiar name come from? When people think of American food, it is not uncommon for two golden arches to appear in their minds. This story began with two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald who owned and ran a small restaurant in San Bernardino, California during the 1940s. In 1954 a man named Ray Kroc came across these two brothers while selling multi-mixers and was impressed with the business they were running. The menu was compact, listing options for only a few burgers, fries and beverages, but the restaurant was effective in its operation. Ray Kroc pitched the idea of spreading McDonald’s restaurants across the United States and in 1955 he founded the McDonald’s Corporation. By 1960 he bought the exclusive rights to the name. Kroc was able to expand substantially on this small business so that by 1958 McDonald’s sold its 100 millionth hamburger. (“McDonald’s.com”)
Ray Kroc wanted to build a restaurant system that was famous for its food and also ...
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Kincheloe, Joe. The sign of the burger: McDonald's and the culture of power. Philadelphia: Temple Univ Press, 2002. 9-185. Print.
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Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, is a stark and unrelenting look into the fast food industry that has ingrained itself in not only American culture, but in many cultures around the world. There is almost no place on earth that the golden arches has not entered. Aside from Antarctica, there is a McDonalds on every continent, and the number of countries that have fast food restaurants is growing on a daily basis. Schlosser describes in detail what happens behind the scenes, before the hamburger and fries come wrapped in environmentally safe paper and are consumed by millions of people daily.
McDonald’s is all over the world, and with this advantage they have been smart to relate to what is considered a norm in the respectable nation they work in. “In this era of globalization, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to leverage their brand equities across geographic boundaries” (Harish 22). McDonald’s does a great job by displaying them in different countries for their consumers because of the mission each McDonald’s is always to strive in their business for: Quality, Service, Convenience, and Value. McDonald’s is such a powerful company in the fast food industry that the China Puzzle reported that “In Hong Kong, 72 percent of people visit McDonalds, on average once a week” (China Puzzle 639). The article explained that this is McDonald’s most “penetrated and mature markets in the world.” The reason why that number is so high for McDonald’s is because the core targets young adults who look to be “cool” and stay up to date with all the big trends such as the Chicken Nuggets with different sauces in a random
sociologist George Ritzer argues that the relationship between McDonald’s and our society runs even deeper. Beyond its commercial propaganda and symbolism, Ritzer says, McDonald’s is a potent manifestation of the rational processes that define modern society.
A lot of people think that Ray Kroc created McDonalds. I will tell you that this is not true; he started out as a milkshake mixer salesman. One day he got a huge order for eight milkshake mixers from a small restaurant in California, he was really curious why they needed so much. He went to investigate and found Dick and Mac McDonald with their small business. According to www.mcdonalds.com they said “Ray Kroc told the McDonalds brothers that they should spread their business all over the U.S., in 19...
The influence of Ray Kroc to McDonald’s brother to pursue a goal to be well known in the world has paid off. Nowadays, the company is serving for more than 70 million customers and helping 1.8 million employees worldwide (Company Profile). They have surpassed a lot of challenges and changes through the years but the influence of the founder, Ray Kroc, is still visible and felt. Don Thompson, president and chief executive officer, reinforces the global strategy “plan to win” in giving priority on its customer service. Thompson’s drive for global strategic innovation and collaborative style pushes to optimize its menu, modernize customer satisfaction, and expand worldwide. Among the collaborative structure of the company is the establishment of Hamburger University in Illinois to train franchisees and employees about how to run the business. It proves that they value and devote their time and effort for their future leaders to adopt its organizational cultur...
In Golden Arches East, James L. Watson investigates how the McDonald’s culture of fast food appeals to people in the cities of East Asia, particularly with how the company connects with American culture. Watson focuses on key concepts when visiting each place, including localization of America in Beijing, food choices, identity and nationalism in Seoul, and changing manners and etiquette in Tokyo. Each city has a different aspect and attitude about McDonald’s that is determined by gender, age, and wealth of people. McDonald’s started the globalization of fast food across the world, in which cultural transformations and a new trend have arisen but has kept indigenous culture intact.
1954 was the year that reshaped the concepts of fast food industry. Fifty two year old milk shake salesman, Ray Kroc envisioned the idea of creating a hamburger product and delivering it to customers in very short time; when he visited his client McDonald’s. By that time, McDonald brothers were operating a restaurant which sold burger, French fries and milk shakes and was efficient but was limited to small scale operation. Kroc made a deal with McDonald brothers to sell McDonald’s franchises for a lower price.
Throughout life, people are influenced by many things, some of which they don’t realize are influencing them until it has already succeeded in infiltrating their subconscious. One of these is the McDonald’s company; children are exposed to the culture inside the restaurant and parents continue to come back because of the consistent taste of the food. George Ritzer, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, has published several books on sociology including, “An Introduction to McDonaldization,” which discusses the effects of businesses on society and the individual. McDonald’s has revolutionized the way the world runs its businesses through the process he calls “McDonaldization.” Ritzer clearly shows that McDonaldization affects almost every aspect of our lives even if we do not realize its implications. However, Ritzer could strengthen his argument with fair language to describe both sides and present a balanced argument, by discussing the workers feelings.
Imagine the world 50 years ago. Now think about it 40 years ago, 30, 20, and 10, then today. When these changes are examined, they may seem like a gradual shift, but none are as drastic as the shift that has most recently occurred. Ideas like this are explored in The McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer. It is also discussed how alongside the innovations that have erupted so rapidly, society has changed and generally become more “McDonaldized” in all aspects.
According to Royle (1999) McDonald’s is a very large multinational enterprise (MNE) and the largest food service operation in the world. Currently the company has 1.5 million workers with 23,500 stores in over 110 countries with the United Kingdom and Germany amongst the corporation’s six biggest markets, and over 12,000 restaurants in the United States. In 1974 the United Kingdom corporation was established and in 1971 the Germany corporation was established, currently the combined corporation has over 900 restaurants and close to 50,000 employees in each of these countries (Royle, 1999).
Have you ever wondered how the business empire of McDonalds was started? With over ninety nine billion served, it was started in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. It was started off as just a Bar-B-Q that served just twenty items. Its first mascot was named “Speedee” They eventually realized that by setting up their kitchen like an assembly line that they could be much more productive and get their food done faster, with every employee doing a specified job; the restaurants production rate became much higher. A milkshake machine vendor came into their small restaurant one day, his name was Ray Kroc. He saw how much potential the restaurant has, so he bought it out and opened one of the first franchises. Within the first year of Ray Kroc buying it, there were one hundred and two locations all around the world. McDonalds currently is one of the largest fast food restaurants in the world and currently has served over sixty four million customers through one of their thirty two thousand sites. It has almost become a way of life for America. Though, McDonalds started off as a small business between two brothers, it grew into one of the largest restaurant franchises in the world and greatly affects our society and how we eat our food.
Ritzer, George. The McDonaldization of Society. Revised New Century Edition. California: Pine Forge Press, 2004.
In modern society technology has made an advancement in history and has helped launched a new advancement for society. It is a great source that helps get job done and has made work a lot faster and more efficient. However, some might consider these advancements to be a little too overwhelming. In society today, people are always on the go so they often look for ways that are fast and efficient. For example, now and days we often see many fast food restaraunts all over the place, just waiting for the average busy consumer to stop by maybe on their way to work or something to grab a bite to eat. These fast food restaurants are often easy to spot and become so familiar to most people that going there can be part of the everyday routine. According to the following sources online there is a theory called “McDoanldization”, that is used to describe the spread of the fast food chain industry, and how it has influenced the society’s social structure and even how people behave and act. McDonaldization is a theory created by George Ritzer, who has come up with a theory to explain how a society is becoming “rationalized.” This relates to how corporations have taken control of how the government runs society. According to the sources online, Corporations of Fast Food Industries have taken over and created a process that helps eliminate aspects of individuality in society. It has become a fast growing trend and takes conformity to a whole new level. According to the theory McDonaldization is based on four central principles: predictability which is the ability to recognize and familiarize yourself with that place based on what you expect from it. For example when people go to a fast food joint they expect to see the standard c...
McDonald’s was the first company to try to export America’s fast food and changes in eating habits to other nations. McDonald’s has over
Vignali, C. (2001). McDonald’s: “think global, act local”--the marketing mix. British Food Journal, 103(2), pp.97--111.